1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to low power electronics, and more particularly, to a low power reference module for electronics that provides a power-save mode and a method for implementing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Solid state integrated circuits are commonly used in the art to provide at least some automated operation or control of an electronic device, or the like. Integrated circuits typically include one or more circuits, or digital and/or analog modules, that are interconnected to perform the operations. Such integrated circuits generally include a power source such as a battery cell, or the like, and a reference circuit or module such as a regulator, or the like, to regulate the voltage and/or current from the power source for delivery to the individual components or modules of the integrated circuit. More specifically, the reference module stabilizes voltage and/or current signals generated by the power source, and further, outputs voltage and/or current reference signals to the individual circuit components or modules of the integrated circuit.
A conventional integrated reference module may employ a single circuit to generate a precise reference voltage or current. This reference signal may be applied locally within a particular module and serve as a local bias module, or alternatively, may be exported to other modules and serve as a global bias module. Typical reference modules may incorporate means for generating voltage and/or current reference signals that are always on and always consuming power while the particular device is powered on. In portable devices, this may translate to a considerable amount of battery power drained. When the power sources of such devices are depleted, they are either replaced with a new battery cell or recharged. Disposing of used batteries as well as manufacturing new batteries to replace depleted batteries consume considerable resources and can raise environmental issues. Frequent recharging of batteries also consumes energy. As the world becomes increasingly more conscious of environmental issues, there are increased efforts to optimize the energy density of battery cells and/or minimize the power consumption of the device to be powered by a battery cell. However, as developments in the field of batteries saturate, there is an even greater demand for energy efficient and low power devices, or “green” devices.
Therefore, there is a need for improved electronic devices that can provide uncompromised performance while consuming substantially less power so as to provide significantly longer life per battery used. Moreover, there is a need for a low power reference module design or method that can provide a stable reference voltage and/or current signal that is substantially unaffected by temperature and supply voltages fluctuations. Furthermore, there is a need for a low power electronic device capable of operating in a power-save mode of operation, wherein non-vital modules or subcomponents may be disengaged or operated autonomously for a majority of the overall system operation.